April 17 reflects party divide
LIFELONG political enemies Prime Minister Hun Sen and former opposition leader Sam Rainsy commemorated the 42nd anniversary of the Khmer Rouge takeover of Phnom Penh by continuing to push their duelling historical narratives, which have defined Cambodian political discourse for decades.
On Sunday, the prime minister took to Facebook to present the ruling party as the guarantor of peace and stability, while Rainsy took the opportunity to emphasise the CPP’s former ties to the Khmer Rouge.
“Disability is very painful for both body and mind, but I tried to stand up for peace and the survival of the nation and people,” Hun Sen wrote, without specifying that he lost his eye while fighting in the 1975 Battle of Phnom Penh as a soldier in the Khmer Rouge army.
“Please maintain peace and prevent war,” Hun Sen added, repeating the ruling party mantra that the CPP brought stability to Cambodia following years of turmoil.
Sam Rainsy, meanwhile, latched onto the ties between the CPP and the Khmer Rouge, as he has repeatedly over the years.
“Over the last 20 years, only the Sam Rainsy Party and the CNRP have commemorated every year this sad anniversary of the Khmer Rouge takeover, whereas the CPP has just ignored it after having joyfully celebrated 17 April 1975 every year from 1979 to 1985,” Rainsy wrote, referring to the years in